Iran detained a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz

It is
reported that the incident occurred in the Strait of Hormuz, to the tanker, on
board of which there were 23 people, small craft and an unmarked helicopter
approached.

The British
Foreign Office is urgently examining reports. The government emergency
committee, Cobra, meets in Whitehall to discuss the incident.

Stena Bulk,
the ship’s owner and Northern Marine Management ship manager, confirmed that
the UK-registered tanker Stena Impero was approached around 4:00 pm on Friday
when it was in international waters.

The
statement of the company-owner says: “Currently, we can not contact the
vessel, which is now heading north towards Iran.”

Information
about whether people have suffered, yet.

The IRNA
report states that the tanker was captured at the request of the port
authorities of the province of Hormozgan by a unit of the flotilla of the First
Zone of the Iranian Navy. Iranian authorities reported that the tanker was
captured “because of a violation of international maritime law.”

The IRNA
report states that the tanker was sent to the shore after the seizure. Now
local authorities must “carry out legal procedures and carry out the
necessary checks.”
On July 18, Iran announced the detention in the
Persian Gulf of an oil tanker with one million liters of oil on board and the
arrest of 12 members of his crew.